The Long Island pediatrician was on her way to watch the solar eclipse with her family when she fell out of the passenger door of the brand new $130,000 AirStream in front of the shocked daughter while the rest of the family was driving in the car
A Long Island pediatrician was on her way to watch the solar eclipse with her family when she fell out of the passenger door of the family’s new Airstream in front of her shocked daughter, it has been revealed.
Monika Woroniecki, 58, had just stopped at a gas station for ice cream with her family on the way to their AirBnb in Cape Vincent before she fell.
According to New York State Trooper Sgt. Jack Keller, Woroniecki and her daughter Helena decided to drive the last 20 minutes of their trip in the $130,000 Airstream camper.
As Woroniecki tried to secure the passenger side of the RV, she was thrown from the Airstream and died in front of her shocked family.
Neighbor Maria Antipas was left distraught outside Woroniecki’s Stony Brook, New York, home on Monday over the news of Woroniecki’s death.
‘I can’t believe something like this would happen. It’s just a nice family, good neighbors. She is a nice person,” Antipas said.
Monika Woroniecki (right) was on her way to view the eclipse when she was thrown from an Airstream on New York Road. Her husband, Richard, was driving a pickup truck pulling the Airstream when Monika got into an argument in front of her family
Woroniecka was a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, where she worked for more than 20 years
As Woroniecki tried to secure the passenger side of the RV, she was thrown from the $130,000 Airstream.
The family was on their way to view the solar eclipse and had stopped for ice cream just before the tragedy
Her husband Robert Woroniecki, 59, was driving the gray 2019 Ram pickup west on Route 12 E in Brownville on Saturday around 3 p.m. when the tragedy occurred.
Witnesses behind the Airstream claimed they saw the passenger side door of the Airstream open, and Monika’s arm hanging from the door after the wind caused the door to swing ajar.
The incident happened in the presence of her daughter and her boyfriend, police said.
When emergency responders arrived, she was transported to Samaritan Medical Center, where she died.
The police are continuing to investigate the gruesome incident.
‘I haven’t had many incidents like this. We are still trying to determine how and why the door opened,” Keller said.
No one answered the door at the Woroniecki residence on Monday. Antipas, who lives next door to the family, was devastated because she had no idea it was the neighbor and only learned about it when a media outlet told her about the tragedy.
Antipas said they would look after each other’s houses while they were traveling and that she had a key to their house.
“They just left,” she remembered. “They got an Airstream a few months ago and they’ve been going on little trips. I look after their house when they’re away, and they do the same for me.’
She said the day they left, her husband walked the dog and watched Monika and her husband Robert prepare their truck and Airstream. They told them they were going upstate to watch the eclipse and meet their daughter.
Richard, a kidney doctor in Stonybrook, and Monika had moved into the house on Dogwood Drive in Stonybrook six or seven years ago.
She said the couple was outdoors and has three grown daughters who are all very smart. One lives with her family in Virginia, the other is a musician living in New York, and the third daughter is studying medicine in Arizona and getting married this summer.
She told DailyMail.com that she remembered the day Richard drove the Airstream home.
“It was shiny,” she remembered. “They were so excited to get it.”
Maria said the last time she saw Monika was the day before she left. She was walking her dogs and they waved to each other.
Devastated, she repeated: “I can’t believe something like this happened. It’s so tragic.’
Witnesses behind the Airstream claimed they saw the passenger door of the Airstream open, and Monika’s arm hanging from the door after the wind caused the door to swing ajar
The New York State Police continue to investigate the incident that left Woroniecki dead
Woroniecka has three daughters, including Alexandra (left) and Helena (right), who was traveling with her
It is illegal to tow passengers in an Airstream in New York State, and it is something the company warns against.
DailyMail.com has contacted Airstream about the tragedy.
“You can’t tow an Airstream with people in it,” the company’s website states. “Your travel trailer is not designed to carry passengers when it is in motion. All passengers must travel in your tow vehicle or a secondary vehicle until you reach your destination.”
A 2022 message for the Airstream website also notes that the trailer “does not have seat belts and is therefore not designed to carry passengers.”
The scene on State Route 12E near Watertown, New York, on Saturday afternoon
The family appears to have been riding in a new 2024 Airstream Bambi 16RB
The carefully designed, relatively small camper is sixteen feet long and can accommodate four people
The cost of the brand new model starts at $60,400
In New York State, it is illegal to drive a moving trailer without a fifth wheel. Airstream manufacturers also warn against driving the RV while it is in motion
Woroniecka was a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, where she practiced for more than twenty years.
She treated children with food, environmental, drug and bee sting allergies, childhood asthma and skin conditions such as eczema and hives.
‘Dr. Woroniecka enjoys traveling, hiking, exercising and spending time with family and friends,” according to her work profile.
She grew up in Poland and attracted Polish-speaking patients from across the region, it added.